This home in Ashburn, VA has always had issues with hot and cold spots, and freezing pipes in the winter. We found cold air in the master bedroom attic to be getting around the batt insulation leading to the bathroom above. This entire neighborhood of Potomac Green has notorious drafts and hot/cold spots. These homes have also dealt with many frozen water lines. The water lines were freezing almost 20 feet from the exterior of the home!!!
Solution
Comfenergy installed 4" thick SilverGlo foam boards with heat reflective barrier on the attic walls. This not only made this Ashburn home more comfortable in the Summer and Winter.....but it lessened the draftiness of the home, and the pipes don't freeze any more!!!
Problem solved!!! Foam board insulation in an attic keeps the cold air from travelling beneath the bathroom tub.
Project Summary
Evaluator: Andrew Garnsey
The back corner of this home is the master bedroom on the first floor. Above that is an attic that is adjacent to an upper level guest bedroom/bathroom that had a pipes freeze last winter.
Batt insulation should not be used on a vertical wall without something behind it holding it in place. Hot/cold air is getting between these batts.
More batts!!! UGH!
One of the crew members installing 4" thick foam SilverGlo boards. This keeps air from penetrating through the batts which are air permeable.
Gaps in the SilverGlo are sealed with one part foam spray.
Another picture of the SilverGlo foam boards being sealed air tight with one part foam spray.
One section of batts to be fixed. You can see how air could get through these batts.
SilverGlo foam boards covering the old batts, not allowing any air leakage! No more frozen pipes, drafty outlets, cold walls, etc.
The builder never put in any soffit air baffles and wind would blow the loose fiberglass insulation away from the edges of the walls.
New soffit air baffles have been installed to keep the old insulation in place.
